The vulgar tongue
Subtitle: Green's history of slang
By: Jonathon Green
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 419
ISBN-13: 9780199398140
Subjects: English language; Slang; History
Other titles: Green's history of slang; History of slang
Description: "The Vulgar Tongue tells the full story of English language slang, from its origins in early British beggar books to its spread in American and Australian culture in the eighteenth century"--

Tells the full story of English language slang, from its origins in early British beggar books to its spread in American and Australian culture in the eighteenth century. The aim is not to record the history of the over 125,000 English words that make up the lexis. Rather, the author focuses on the common, often profane themes that run through the word-list--crime, sex, bodily parts and functions, insults, and drink and drugs--and their scope and function throughout the various cultures and overlapping subcultures of English language history, from the sporting world to the university campus to ethnic communities.  --Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Preface; title: 1. Introduction: Slang: A User's Manual; title: 2. In the Beginning: The Pre-history; title: 3. Lewd, Lousey Language: Beggars and Their Books; title: 4. Crime and Punishment: The Vocabulary of Villainy; title: 5. Play's the Thing: The Stage and the Song; title: 6. The Sound of the City: No City, No Slang; title: 7. Flash: This Sporting Life; title: 8. Down Under: Larrikin Lingo; title: 9. Sex in the City: The Agreeable Ruts of Life; title: 10. Cockney Sparrers: Mean Streets and Music Halls; title: 11. America: Pioneers; title: 12. Keeping Score: Nineteenth-century Slang Lexicography; title: 13. Gayspeak: The Lavendar Lexicon; title: 14. American Century: The Slang Capital of the World; title: 15. African-American Slang: The Flesh Made Word; title: 16. Campus and Counter-Culture: Teenage Skills; title: 17. War: One Thing It's Good For; title: 18. Conclusion: As It Was in the Beginning; title: Notes; title: Bibliography; title: Acknowledgements; title: Index.